Semester one.
Residency one.
And...my third attempt to write a formal introductory post for this blog without it getting bogged down in emotional self-reflection and a hefty spoonful of anxiety.
You probably stumbled upon this blog (poor soul) googling "Hamline MFAC" or "Hamline MFAC student" or "Hamline MFAC student blog" or any of the other combinations that I, too, as a nauseous prospective student and then a barely functioning applicant feverishly typed in night after night in the name of research.
Before you run away, though, or more cautiously back up and smile and pretend you clicked on the wrong link while browsing Facebook, I have to assure you that you are in the right place.
The entire purpose of this blog is to offer a link on the other side of those search combinations. Being able to stumble upon current students' reflections on the program helped me reassure myself that this was an entirely legitimate and not all foolhardy venture and some very intelligent people survived two years in the MFAC program without embarrassing themselves or being laughed out as utter frauds who thought they could master the sacred art of writing.
I intend to use this online space to document my own two years in the MFAC program - starting from this first residency, summer 2019, and carrying on to my projected graduation in summer 2021.
The motto of this space: "if I can do it, you sure as heck can, because I have no idea what I am doing at any given time."
(Please to note I have published two books and have taught tween-aged hellions and am apparently starting graduate school, all while being the embodiment of Muslim twenty-something Mia Thermopolis.)
I intend to keep this blog tidy, updated and cozily uncluttered.
(If you do want to see a more unfiltered view of my grad years, there is an accompanying Tumblr - with a FAQ! - that I fully expect to collapse under the weight of Korean drama GIFs and musings on Sailor Moon during the fall semester, but have at it.)
This will likely not be the most polished, beautifully heartfelt MFA reflection blog on the Internet, but I hope it will offer you what you need at this point in your journey: a sense that someone else went before you and experienced the same high levels of cortisol, and a peek inside a magical institution that all the obsessive livestreaming and poring over residency slideshows cannot provide.
Year one.
Semester one.
Residency one.
Let's go.
